RAFFWU expects to oppose a "disastrous" joint union and Master Grocers Australia proposal to let part-time retail workers put in more hours without earning overtime, but the ACTU says it will help them lock in increased hours while combating surging casualisation.
More than half of private sector clerks included in a survey to inform a possible coronavirus-driven award variation have been working from home since the middle of last year and almost three quarters of employers intend to let them continue doing so at least some of the time.
The Australian Hotels Association has proposed ahead of further conferences next week in the loaded rates case that the FWC extend the range of ordinary working hours when it considers simplified pay arrangements for the hospitality and retail sectors.
If the FWC incorporates loaded rates in hospitality and retail awards after a referral from IR Minister Christian Porter, it is likely to involve a range of such rates rather than a single one, the tribunal's president indicated in a statement today.
Home-based workers will be able to negotiate their preferred hours and breaks under COVID-19-related award flexibilities likely to be approved by the FWC this week.
The AWU is seeking to delete a decade-old pieceworker provision in the horticulture award that it claims leaves affected workers with no safety net and substandard rates of pay.
FWC President Iain Ross has agreed to consider IR Minister Christian Porter's request that he insert loaded rates into awards for "distressed" industries and will convene initial conferences next week.
IR Minister Christian Porter has asked FWC President Iain Ross to consider how to best insert "loaded rates" incorporating penalty rates and other benefits into four awards covering industries "distressed" by the coronavirus pandemic.
Support among workers for performing their duties from home, compressing their hours and job sharing has increased dramatically during COVID-19, according to university research commissioned by the FWC as it considers inserting a WFH clause in the clerical award.
Working from home is here to stay and will be "more effective for all" if it is supported by formal policies, hours are "relatively fixed hours" and it is voluntary, according to one of two university studies commissioned by the FWC as it considers inserting a WFH clause in the clerks award.
